Voice Inside My Head
by pyrolyn-776
Summary: Like Spell, this story is not worthy of the praise it has received. That is my honest opinion. But, if you read this and you enjoy it, I thank you. ABANDONED.
1. This Is Weird

Disclaimer: I'm only writing this thing once. I do not and never will own Camp Rock. In no way am I affiliated other than through this piece of fiction. Anything you read in here that bares a similiarity to the Camp Rock franchise does not belong to me.

**July 19th, 2009: Yeah. This was broken. So I fixed it. I hope you guys enjoy it, if you haven't clicked on this story before. I'm going to attempt to clean up the last two to four chapters, and maybe I can actually get VIMH finished. As a Pyro original, I've always hated that I left this one unwritten. **

* * *

You know those really annoying movies where strange occurrences go on, like, switching bodies? Those ones that seem so unlikely, but are fun to hear about anyway? Those ones that are just so enticing, so alluring, so…I don't know.

Well, I'd like to introduce you to my own bizarre, nonsensical tale. No, I didn't switch bodies with anyone. I didn't come back from the dead. If your thoughts are anything close to that, eliminate them now. Because it simply didn't happen that way.

Okay then, now I can begin explaining to you what happened. First of all, I'm not crazy. As insane as this might sound to you, I'm really not a psycho. I didn't have multiple voices in my head, telling me what to do.

Just one, actually.

And his name is Shane Gray.

Hardy har har. I bet you're rolling your eyes thinking that I really _am _clinically insane, because there's just no way that a pop star (oh, I'm sorry, Shane - _rock _star) would ever be in my head. Right?

No. Wrong! Because he _was _in my head. And I was in his. It's all...really a jumbled up mess to explain. I mean there was a physical connection going on, voices in heads, our future daughter. Yeah. As much as I'd like to explain that last one, I really can't. You'll have to just listen to me, otherwise you're simply going to think I'm crazy. And I'm _not. _

Anyways, it all started some time ago, I can't exactly pinpoint when. You know, you hear this agonizing voice in your head for so long and time just kind of blurs into this spectrum of pre and post Shane Gray. What I can tell you, though, is that it all started with a nightmare. Which, if you think about it, is really quite fitting.

"Mom," I had said at the time, "I think (yawn) I'm going to go to sleep, I'm really tired." I rubbed my eyes like a small child, causing my mom to erupt into a fit of laughter.

"Okay honey, go ahead. This can wait until tomorrow." She shook her head, returning to the menu she was filling out.

We had been planning my cousin's birthday at the time, going all out because it was her sixteenth. For my mom and my aunts, our sixteenth birthdays were massively important. Hugely important, like, catering and hundreds of guests important.

But I just couldn't stay up any longer. "Thanks mom…" I had stumbled for the stairs, making my way up groggily, grasping the handrail tightly. My eyelids were closing on me, and I struggled to stay awake. I made it to my room with minimal effort, falling onto my bed without bothering to change. Within seconds of my head hitting the pillow, I was asleep.

But I should have stayed awake.

In my dream, or nightmare, as I like to refer to it, I was standing in a dimly lit room. From what I could get out of it, it was a guy's room. It was painfully obvious, from the dark abstract colors, to the scantily clad women that adorned his walls.

Glancing around at what I supposed was his 'bachelor pad' I questioned, "What am I doing here?"

I didn't really understand why my subconscious would think up something like this. Even in my dream-like state, I doubted I could conjure up a scene like the one I was in. It simply wasn't in me.

But then, I heard a voice. A voice that sounded strangely familiar, but I couldn't tell from where though. I took a step closer, making out two figures. One was clearly female, I could tell from the way she was giggling. The other was male, the voice I had heard.

I froze, a blush rising up my neck as I heard, "Oh come on…take it off. You know you want to, " he said seductively, running his hand up and down her inner thigh.

I'm not an idiot. I know what he was doing, what _they_ were about to do. I've taken health for Heaven's sake. I know about the birds and the bees, what happens when "two people become one". I just…didn't expect to get a front seat view from my own subconscious!

So you know what I did? I took a step closer. That's right! My teenage, hormonal side took over! A girl can't be curious?

Well, who are you to judge anyway?

So, I stood there, my curiosity getting the better of me. The girl, a blonde, was then underneath him, giggling. She ran a hand up and down his torso, saying, "Oh, Shane!"

_So, that's what his name is_, I thought to myself. I racked my brain for some kind of answer. _Do I know a Shane? _

And then the giggling stopped, startling me. Shane, and his little playmate, were staring right at me, a questioning look in his eye, a disappointed one in hers. "What are _you _doing here?" he asked.

I staggered. "Me?" I pointed at myself, not believing he was talking to me.

Stupid me, who else would he be talking to?

He rolled his eyes. "No. Not you." When I didn't say anything he screeched, "Yes you! What are you doing in _my _dream?"

My eyes widened at his question. "_Your _dream? This is _your _dream? Not mine?"

His eyebrows raised. "What do you think? Unless…" he tilted his head. "…do you have kinky dreams?"

I glared at him, a crimson blush rising to my cheeks. I was suddenly glad that the room was poorly lit.

That changed in a matter of seconds, as the blonde disappeared, and the room changed. Suddenly, we were standing in what I assumed was his kitchen. It was well lit enough to the point where I could see just _who _this Shane person was. Pop star Shane. _Connect Three_ Shane. My crimson cheeks were then exposed to him.

He was standing not more than two feet away from me, close enough to reach out and touch me. He repeated, "What are you doing in my dream?"

"I…this is impossible! This is not _your _dream. It can't be. I'm going to wake up in a few minutes and then this will all seem silly." I nodded to confirm my thoughts.

"Right. Don't you watch movies? Do they ever wake up from dreams when they say they are?"

"Well…this isn't a movie! Stop trying to confuse me!" I paced. "And why aren't you freaking out about this?"

He shrugged, propping himself up on his counter. "I don't know, maybe because I _know _I'm in a dream." He smirked and egotistically continued, "I have the same one every time…"

I grimaced, disgusted by his male brain. "Well, if this is _your _dream, what am _I _doing here?"

And, you see...that's when I woke up. "What the hell was that?" I had said.

And then. Things got really weird.

A voice clearly not mine said, _"Holy crap!"_

Out loud, I said, "Who was that?"

"_What are you doing in my head?"_ I heard.

I glanced around, looking for someone. My door was closed, and there wasn't any one there. '_What is going on?' _I thought.

'_You tell me!' _

And that's when I freaked out, screaming my head off. _'I'm going insane…this is not happening…I'm not hearing voices in my head…Oh my God…this isn't happening…this isn't happening!'_

'_Will you shut up? You're giving me a headache! Who the hell are you?'_

'_Me? Who the hell are you?'_

'_Shane Gray.'_

And, y'know, I think it was at that point in our conversation that I passed out.


	2. Shut Up

'_You're not really Shane Gray.'_

I swear I could feel him rolling his eyes. _'Right, because I have so much reason to lie to you. I don't even know who the hell you are!'_

I was angry with this jerk. He was acting as if it was my fault that this crazy shit had taken us on. How the hell was I supposed to know what had happened to us? '_Hey, I don't know what's going on here, but this isn't funny. Whatever you're trying to pull, stop it.'_

'_What I'm trying to pull? Don't mess with me woman! Who ARE you?'_

After passing out, I had awoken with the headache from hell. The first thing I hear? Someone else's irrational, annoying, and obviously _male _thoughts. And now that you're up to speed, here's how the rest of our "conversation" went:

'_If it will shut you up, my name is Mitchie,'_ as an afterthought, I added, _'Torres.'_

'_I haven't heard that name before. Are you a new artist? Actress? Broadway?'_

I growled out loud. This guy had some nerve! '_I'm not famous, dickwad.'_

'_Oh.' _

I threw my hands up in the air, not believing what I was hearing…in my head. It wasn't just strange, it was annoying. Why couldn't Joe Jonas be in my head? Huh? The boy isn't _just _cute, but he's also polite. I sighed. And then…

'_Joe Jonas? Ha. That little pretty boy? You have some weird taste, Mitch.'_

I blushed. He wasn't supposed to hear that!

'_In case you've forgotten, I CAN HEAR YOU!'_

I groaned. This "Shane" guy was turning out to be an annoying asshole.

'_You're one to talk.'_

'_Will you please just…go away? I don't like you in my head.'_

'_How the hell do you think I feel? I'm not supposed to hear whatever the hell you're thinking.'_

'_Well, what are we going to do about this? Obviously we can't tell anyone.'_

Frustrated, he screamed in my head, '_And why the hell not!?_'

What. An. Idiot.

'_I resent that!'_

I sighed, '_We can't tell anyone because we'll end up in an asylum. Do you think, "I can hear Shane Gray's thoughts" is going to go over well? Think about it!'_

My brain went on overload as he began to over-think what I thought. '_Well we have to do something! I cannot, no, I REFUSE, to have your thoughts in my head!'_

I would've glared at him if were standing in front of me, but as he wasn't, all I could do was focus all of my anger on the poster of him tacked to the back of my bedroom door. Stupid pop star.

'_Well, looks like you're going to be able to. I think we're going to have to meet up.'_

'_I can't meet you! You're Shane Gray!'_

Sarcastically he thought, '_No shit Sherlock.'_

'_Do you have to be such an asshole?'_

'_No, but it's definitely more fun that way.'_

I sighed. '_Well, where do you live?'_

His address came to mind before he could think of something to make up. '_Damn! Now I have to move, thanks.'_

I rolled my eyes. '_You know I'm not going to stalk you or anything like that. And you know what else? Your address isn't too far from where I live.' _My own address came to mind.

'_Aww, look at that. You're a thinker! I like thinkers. Well then, I'll be over in half an hour.'_

My jaw literally dropped and thinking of how rich he was and how...not rich I was, I refused right off the bat. '_What? No! You can't come here!'_

'_Why not?'_

In my head I listed all the reasons why Shane Gray couldn't come to my house. One, my neighborhood wasn't nearly as "rich" as what he was used to. Two, my parents knew very little about my dating life, or rather, lack thereof. And three, well, I didn't really have a number three…but if I had some time to think about it, I'm sure I could come up with something…

'_That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time.'_

Once again I blushed. He REALLY wasn't supposed to hear that.

'_What would you have me do? Shut it off?'_

His voice was pissing me off. '_Yes, actually! SHUT THE DAMN THING OFF!'_

'_Ow. Could you lower the decibels please?'_

Had to laugh at that one. Coming from a thought in my head, and considering the fact that in my room it was completely silent, the sentence was quite amusing.

'_Glad to know I amuse you. I'm about twenty-five minutes away now.'_

I began to panic, running around to pick up my room. Cleaning always did calm my nerves.

'_Hmm…sex calms my nerves.'_

I dropped the bra in my hands, blushing at the images that were running through my mind from my dream. At that moment, I was glad he couldn't see me.

'_But I can hear your thoughts…perhaps that's worse? And I wonder what kind of bra that was…'_

The blushing didn't stop on my part, but the anger did soar. '_Hey! You have no right to be thinking about my bra!'_

'_How can I not when you mention it like that!?'_

'_Well just…don't! It's creepy!'_

'_How old are you anyway?'_

'_Seventeen. You?' _I couldn't believe how are conversation had turned so sharply from shock to anger to questioning. It was very surreal.

'_Eighteen.'_

Eighteen and so immature…

'_Shut up.'_

Childishly I replied, '_Make me.'_

'_I will.'_

'_I don't think so.'_

'_Frankly, it doesn't matter what you think.'_

Did I mention that he was pissing me off?

'_Yes, you did.'_

'_Shut up.'_

'_Make me.'_

I laughed at how our thoughts reversed. It truly was ironic.

But then he thought something that made me stop. '_What street are you on? I need to punch it into the GPS."_

Shit. He was actually coming.

'_Oh, come on. I'm not that bad.'_

'_Shut. Up.'_


	3. Touching You

Five minutes. I only had FIVE minutes! _He _was going to be here in FIVE minutes. I considered banging my head against the wall, maybe then he would stop talking in my head.

'_You're aware that I can still hear you, right? And I don't think you should bang your head against a wall…trust me, it hurts.'_

I screamed. How was I supposed to get any privacy, when he wouldn't leave my head alone?

'_Stop moaning. You're not the only one who's pissed.'_

'_I don't control my thoughts pop star, so why don't you just shut up?'_

I fell back on my bed, closing my eyes. I didn't want him to come here. I didn't _need _him to come here. For all I knew, this was just some freaky occurrence. By the time I woke up tomorrow…this would be over. I was sure of it.

'_Oh please. You don't honestly believe that, so stop trying to convince yourself.'_

My eyes shot open. '_You know, I already have my conscious telling me what to do, I don't need you telling me what to do too. And you know it doesn't exactly help that you can hear what I'm thinking.'_

'_Just so you know, I'm rolling my eyes right now. Oh, and I'm about to ring your doorbell…'_

I launched myself off my bed, running downstairs before mom or dad could get to the door. Behind me, I could hear her say, "Mitchie? Is everything alright?"

'_It will be if you stay over there.' _I yelled back, "Yeah, yeah. Everything's okay."

'_Aww, don't want mommy dearest to meet your new boy toy?'_

I clenched my teeth, opening the door. Before he could get a word in, I'd grabbed his wrist, pulling him into the house. I whispered, "Say a word and die."

I pictured all of the things I would do to him if he made a noise, but surprisingly he didn't react. I couldn't even hear him in my head. I dragged him up the stairs quickly, careful to avoid my mom and dad.

Once we were safely in my room, I sighed. "Look, I don't know what we're supposed to do about this but we can't tell anyone."

He glanced at me curiously, before staring down at my hand…which was still wrapped around his wrist. I blushed, embarrassed, letting go of it as if it were on fire.

'_Damn, she let go.'_

I blushed again, before gasping. '_Maybe if I…'_

Without a second thought I touched his arm, surprised when I could no longer hear his thoughts. Aloud I said, "Can you hear me?"

He knew what I meant, and his eyes widened. Jumping back, he screamed, "Oh, fuck no!"

I launched forward, pinning him against the wall with my body. I put my hand over his mouth. "Shut up."

He relaxed and I let go. As soon as I did, his thoughts entered my mind. _'Shit. The only way to turn this thing off is to TOUCH her? Shit.'_

I winced before reaching out to touch his arm again. "Stop thinking so much, it hurts my head."

He snapped back at me. "What am I supposed to do? I'm hearing your thoughts, and _apparently _the only way to shut the damn thing off is to touch you. What am I supposed to do with that?"

My hand, wrapped gently I should add, around his forearm refused to let go. If not hearing his thoughts meant that I had to touch him, then so be it. I liked my privacy. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I was officially protective of my privacy. Him in my head? Privacy eliminated.

"I don't know," I whispered. My hand slipped for a moment, and I knew he heard me think, '_God, are we going to end up sleeping together, too?'_

Of course, _I _meant it as just sleeping next to each other, but his male brain immediately went to the gutter. Stupid idiot.

'_Sleeping with her…hmm…'_

I slapped his arm, grabbing a hold of it with a force I didn't know I had. I didn't want to hear what he was thinking at that moment. The nightmare was enough, reality was something I didn't want to deal with.

I sighed, before looking into his eyes, which were beautiful I should mention. I hadn't noticed before, but his hair, his eyes…so beautiful. The blush returned. At that moment, I was thanking God that he couldn't hear what I was thinking. His ego was big enough, thank you.

"It looks like we're going to have to do something neither of us wants to do," I finally spoke.

He blinked. "Which is?"

I closed my eyes. "Wow, I didn't think it was possible, but somehow, you sound even dumber when you speak."

He glared. "Will you just tell me what we're going to do already?" Then he smirked. "Or perhaps you should let go and we'll do this the…_fun _way."

I glared right on back. "We're going to have to," I swallowed, embarrassed by what I was about to say, "be together as much as possible." I closed my eyes, anticipating his reaction.

"I guess you're right."

I opened my eyes in shock. "What?"

"I said, 'I guess you're right.'"

"I just didn't expect you to, I guess."

He took his free arm and messed with his hair. "Look, I'm supposed to meet my girlfriend of mine today." He looked to me expectantly.

Instantly a wave of jealously swept over. But he was Shane Gray, and it was to be expected. Besides. He was acting like a jerk. "And I should care because…?"

He gave me the same 'you're an idiot' look that I had just given him. "Because you're coming with me."


	4. When Things Get Worse

I blankly stared at him. "But I...no. I am not letting you put me through this."

"What are you, my mother?"

I mumbled under my breath, "Poor woman…"

"What was that?" he asked quickly.

I stared at the ground. "Nothing. But I'm _not _going." I put a hand on my hip, only faintly aware that I looked ridiculous, using my other hand to keep a firm grip on his arm.

He began to rock his body from side to side, pulling my arm with him. I glared, digging my sharp, almost catlike, nails into his skin. He yelped, jumping a foot in the air. "Damn woman! Retract the claws!"

I loosened my grip. "Fine. But I'm not going with you."

He sighed. "Look, I really care about this girl. And you have to come with me, because I refuse to sit through a movie all the while listening to you."

I sighed too, but only because what he was saying made sense. "I..."

"Please," he grudgingly asked.

My eyes stared into his, and I could see that he really did care about his girlfriend. Which was nice, because he could _really _care less about my feelings in this whole ordeal. "Fine."

"Thank you." He was being polite enough, I figured I owed him the same respect.

"Wait a minute. Won't your girlfriend care that I'm there with you?"

He laughed nervously. "She, uh, won't notice?"

I laughed, trying to conceal it with a cough. Come on, I'm not _that_ mean. "Right. You obviously don't know too much about us females, buddy." I hit him lightly on his upper arm, taking notice of how hard they were. The boy was ripped!

He looked torn, like he was having an internal battle. I shook my head. Dude had no idea what he was about to get himself into.

"What exactly do you mean?"

I rolled my eyes. "Once again, you're an idiot."

He glared. "I'd appreciate it if you'd stop calling me that."

I whistled. "Can't deny the truth…"

He groaned. "Look, I don't have time for this. You're coming with me, whether you like it or not."

I raised my eyebrows at this. "Right. And how exactly do you plan on that working out for you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, putting his hands on my waist.

Next thing I know, I'm in the air, being tossed over his shoulder. I would've screamed if it weren't for the fact that mom and dad would run in, assuming the worst. I did hit him a few times though, and I'll even admit that it felt good. He deserved it.

"Sorry about this, but…like I said, I don't have time for this."

My head was resting against his back, my fists pounding as hard as I could against him. My legs were immobile, as he had a strong grip on them. Sadly, he didn't react to my protests.

Shane was strong. I'd give him that. The ass.

"Let me go," I bit out.

He carefully, but swiftly, got us down the stairs. "No."

He tiptoed to the front door, opening it with one hand, keeping his right arm wrapped tightly around my legs. "Let me go!"

"No."

We were on the sidewalk and by then I realized I had no chance of getting away from him. I sighed. "Will you at least tell me how long we're going to be gone? My parents should know where we're going."

He set me down then, and my head began to spin. "Um, ow?"

He barely acknowledged me. "Yeah, whatever. Just hurry up okay?" He crossed his arms, watching me with narrowed eyes.

Rolling my eyes I walked crookedly back into my house. '_Stupid idiot.'_

'_You have really got to stop calling me that.'_

I fumed. What a cruel joke. Both of our "options" seemed unjust. I didn't want to touch him, nor did I want my thoughts in his head and vice versa. '_This sucks.'_

'_Are you just now realizing that?'_

'_Will you shut up for just a second?' _

'_You first.'_

"Ugh!" I screamed, slamming the door behind me.

My mom was standing before me, eyebrows raised curiously. "Honey? Is everything…okay?"

I swallowed nervously. Lying never was my forte. '_What to say, what to say…I guess I could say I'm going to Sierra's…crap. She's at math camp.'_

'_Math camp? What a nerd…'_

'_Shut up!'_

My mom was giving me a strange look, not that I blamed her. My expressions kept changing as Shane's comments continued to piss me off.

'_Just tell her the truth.'_

'_The truth? Are you crazy?'_

'_Okay…so maybe not the "whole" truth…just tell her that you're going out with a guy and you'll be home soon. You seem like the good girl type, she'll believe you.'_

'_Good girl type? What does that mean?'_

"Mitchie?" my mom asked again.

My thoughts, or rather Shane's thoughts, were distracting me. Finally focusing on my mom, I smiled. "Heh, you know…I'm going out today mom, so I'll just be back later…" I reached to the left to grab my purse off of the hallway table, I turned to leave, but she spoke again.

"Not so fast young lady. Where are you going, with who, and exactly what time will you be back?'

Shane heard my thoughts, and responded with a, '_Damn. Does your mom always have you on lockdown? Must suck to be you.'_

I ignored him long enough to say, "Um, well, his name is-

If possible, her eyebrow went even higher up. "His?"

I blushed. "Yes, um, you see…his name is…" I scrambled for a name, "Shawn! Yeah, Shawn and we're going out to…see…um…Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants…so…yeah." I finished lamely, and I could tell she barely believed a word that came out of my mouth.

'_Shawn? What kind of gay name is that?'_

"Okay…well, what time will you be back?"

'_What time will we be back…Shawn?' _

'_Screw you…tell her around seven.'_

'_Seven!? You're planning on kidnapping me for SEVEN hours? WHY!?"_

'_I'm not keeping you that long genius. Better safe than sorry right?'_

'_Wow, that must've been the most intelligent thing that's ever come out of your…thoughts…that sounded really stupid…'_

"We'll be back around seven mom."

I turned to move away, but before I could get an inch closer to the door, she said, "Wait."

"Yes?" I asked meekly.

She smiled, reaching into her pocket. "Here! Wear this! It's just your color."

She put something in my hands and I looked down.

Lipgloss.

"Uh, thanks mom. I'll see you later."

Before she had another chance to speak, I was out the door, ready to face my newfound annoyance. I shoved the lipgloss into my jeans pocket, intent on not thinking about it.

He was smirking. "Well…that was certainly interesting."

I returned the smirk. "Whatever _Shawn_."

It had the desired effect, as he grumbled, "Bitch."

'_Takes one to know one.'_

'_Let's just get this over with.'_

I walked forward, behind him by a few steps. What shocked me was, before getting into the driver's side, that he opened the door for me! '_Okay…that was weird.'_

He stiffened next to me. '_I was taught to always be a gentlemen.'_

I rolled my eyes. '_You call tossing me over your shoulder being a gentlemen?'_

'_I said I was taught to be a gentlemen, I never said I was one.'_

'_Once again, I repeat: you're an idiot.'_

We were both in the car by that point, as he pulled away from my house. He stiffened, hesitantly reaching out to rest his hand on my knee. Knowing that he couldn't hear me, I thought, '_God, could things get any worse?' _

"By the way…we're supposed to be seeing a movie. Sisterhood…something, or whatever."

I knew I shouldn't have asked the question. Two hours, alone, in the dark with him? Sure, his girlfriend would be there…but, I honestly didn't see how things could get any worse than that.

Bu I was very wrong.


	5. Handcuffs and The Girlfriend

"I am not holding your hand," I said strongly. His hands were on my shoulders, and as much as I wanted to peel every single one of his fingers off in some painful way, the want of his thoughts leaving my head was more desirable.

He glared at the back of my head. I couldn't see it. But I just knew. "Yes you are!"

I tilted my head. "No, actually, I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Well, other than the fact that _you have a girlfriend_, gee, I don't know." Fortunately, the sarcasm was helping quite a bit.

He rolled his eyes. "I have a plan."

Shane Gray takes "idiot" to an entirely new level. What kind of girl wouldn't care about her boyfriend holding someone else's hand? He's stupid, that much is solid. And a plan?

"You're an idiot," I said with conviction in my eyes.

He grabbed my wrist, dragging me over to the trunk of his car. Using his right hand, he opened it up, rummaging around for something. "You have _got_ to stop calling me that."

"What are you doing?" I asked impatiently.

He doesn't respond, instead he slams it shut, putting a hat and glasses on. "There we go."

I rolled my eyes. "Nice disguise."

He's so thick headed that he takes it as a compliment. "Thanks and now…"

Something cold touched my wrist and I looked down to see what it was. I glared before reaching up with my left hand to smack him. "You _idiot!_"

He rubbed his arm tenderly, before replying, "You've _really_ got to stop calling me that." He walked away, me following, involuntarily I should add, behind.

I yanked as hard as I could on his wrist. "Handcuffs, seriously? You're a moron!"

He leaned down to whisper, "How else were we supposed to explain what happened to her? Like you said, we can't tell the truth. At least _this _way, it won't be so suspicious."

I think the only thing I hated more than him, was him when he was right. "Fine, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I didn't say you had to."

"Well good."

It wasn't until we reached the front of the theater that it occured to me to ask, "Why the hell do you have handcuffs in the trunk of your car?"

I wasn't sure if I should've been scared that he didn't answer.

* * *

"Okay." He scanned the crowd for what I could only assume was his girlfriend. "There she is."

I sighed. Meeting his girlfriend was not something I had on my to-do list. He stopped and I stumbled into him. "Watch it idiot!"

"Shane?"

I closed my eyes. Yelling was about to ensue…I just knew it.

"Hey Caitlyn."

"Why," - I opened my eyes, blushing like crazy - "are you handcuffed to…I'm sorry, who are you?"

I sheepishly opened my mouth to speak, but Shane casually answered for me, "Oh her? This is Mitchie."

I smacked his head without thinking about it. "I can answer for myself, you idiot."

Caitlyn laughed, "Well…it's nice to meet you Mitchie, I'm Caitlyn," she eyed the handcuffs curiously, finishing with, "Shane's girlfriend."

I blurted out, "It's not what it looks like!"

Once again, she laughed. "I kind of figured that. I doubt Shane would've showed up, if there was something going on between the two of you." She leaned in closer. "There isn't anything going on between the two of you, right?"

"Of course not!" we screamed in unison.

"Haha, okay, okay, calm down children." She kissed Shane's cheek, and I vaguely wondered why she was dating him.

I looked to Shane, only to find him smirking back at me. I rolled my eyes. So he was actually dating a pretty down-to-earth girl, so what?

"There's just one thing I'm wondering," Caitlyn spoke. Shane and I turned to her expectantly. "How did this happen in the first place?"

I froze. Uh…

Shane recovered with, "Well…Jason was trying to teach us a magic trick, but apparently he lost the key. So, until he can go get a replacement, we're stuck like this." He lifted our wrists for extra emphasis.

To our relief, she laughed. "Typical Jason. Wait, how do you know the guys?"

The question was for me, obviously. "Oh, well, um…" I nudged Shane, trying to give him the reins on the question.

"She's Ella's friend."

Who the _hell_ was Ella?

Caitlyn nodded, accepting our excuse. "Okay! Well then, the three of us will have to get together sometime then!"

Shane grimaced, as did I. "Yeah…you'll have to do that sometime…"

Being in his head for as little as I had, I knew exactly what he was thinking: Hell no.

"Well, let's go see this movie then, shall we?" I said, breaking the awkward silence.

Shane laced his fingers with Caitlyn's, and I knew far too well how stupid we looked. I tried to hide my face with my hair, but it was to no avail. People stared, first at me and then at Caitlyn and Shane.

Shane walked up to the ticket counter, me following helplessly, and Caitlyn following voluntarily, the weirdo. "Three for…Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants?" he asked Caitlyn. At her nod, he turned back to the vendor.

"That'll be twenty-three fifty," she said in a bored tone.

He nodded, pulling out two crisp twenties. To my surprise, _both _Caitlyn and I protested, at the same time, "You don't have to pay for me!" we said in unison.

I blushed. This looked bad. He turned to Caitlyn and genuinely said, "You're my girlfriend, besides it's in the boyfriend code."

She smiled sweetly. "Aww, you suck-up." As sickening as it was, I almost wanted to 'aww' too. It truly was sweet.

He rolled his eyes, before turning to me. "And…you're Ella's friend, so don't worry about it."

The vendor sighed, "I don't have all day sir."

Shane smirked. "Whatever, here." He handed her the bills, and we took our tickets, shuffling out of the line quickly.

"Anyone want popcorn?" Caitlyn offered.

As if on cue, my stomach growled. "Uh…"

Caitlyn smiled with kind eyes. "Don't worry, it's on me."

Why did Shane have a nice girlfriend? He was such a jerk…and she was such a nice person. The whole thing was confusing.

"You don't have to pay, really. I can-

Shane cut me off. "How about I settle the argument and pay for both of you?"

Why was he being nice to me all of a sudden?

Through clenched teeth, I growled, "No, its okay."

He chuckled. The guy was not just a singer, he was an actor. His annoyance was barely showing. "I _insist_. Now," we got to the front of the line I didn't realize we were standing in, "what does everyone want?"

"Dr. Pepper for me," Caitlyn spoke up. As an afterthought, she added, "medium."

I looked to the guy behind the counter and then my eyes widened. It was Ben! I tried to hide as best as I could, but it wasn't helping. "Mitchie?" he asked.

I nervously smiled, while Caitlyn and Shane looked to me curiously. "Err, hi Ben." I gave some idiotic wave as he smiled back.

"How's your summer been going?" He leaned against the counter, looking genuinely interested in _me _of all people.

By some miracle, I was able to answer, "Pretty good so far, you?"

He smiled a bit wider and said, "Well…if you would go out with me tomorrow, it'd be great." He glanced briefly to Shane, and for a second I thought he was sizing him up. Ben didn't know who Shane Gray was. To him, he was just another 'douche' wearing tight pants.

My breathing stopped and I had to lean against the counter for support. "Well, I think that can be arranged," I took out a pen, and wrote my number on his hand.

A few minutes, three medium drinks, and the biggest tub of popcorn the theater offered, later, we were walking to theater ten.

As we did, Shane muttered, "Can you believe that guy?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "I don't know, I thought he was sweet!" She smiled at me, and I offered a tiny smile back.

"Well I thought he was full of crap."

Caitlyn smacked him. "Just goes to show that you know nothing about romance."

I laughed as we approached the appropriate door. "Caitlyn, you and I, are going to get along _just _fine."

"With Shane around, there's so much to bond over," she added.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"

She smiled innocently, "Oh nothing…"


	6. Thank God For The Gullible

"So what's the verdict? Good or bad?"

Shane groaned, which was actually the perfect response to Caitlyn's question. "Are you kidding? 'Traveling pants'? That's got to be the stupidest plot I've ever heard of," he scoffed, taking shorter strides to match my own.

The movie had just ended, not that Shane really cared, as he slept through most of it, waking up just in time for the credits. What a nice boyfriend he is, wouldn't you agree? Caitlyn didn't seem too choked up over it though, she was so into the film. If I were to be perfectly honest, I would have to agree slightly with Shane. The plot was a bit far-fetched, taking wild imaginations to an entirely absurd level.

But whatever, despite the absurdity of it all, it was semi-decent.

Shane was tugging on the cuffs of malice, pulling me along with him. Caitlyn was talking about the movie, the highlights, the disappointments, what she loved most and what she didn't. She would've made a great movie critic if she had wanted to be.

"So Mitchie, do you have any plans tonight?" Caitlyn asked as we made our way out to the parking lot.

Shane stiffened noticeably and I knew exactly what he wanted me to say. I opened my mouth to respond, "Well, I'm kind of busy," but Shane spoke for me, the insufferable bastard.

"She's busy!" he exclaimed.

I looked at him, rolling my eyes. Smirking, I announced, "Nope, no plans at all." I know how much it pissed him off, but I didn't care. The look on his face was enough for me. It was a good feeling too, making him angry. Following his every whim, putting up with his egotistical ways (how Caitlyn does it, I have no clue), I just wasn't going to take it anymore.

Caitlyn clapped. "Great! Then you can come with Shane and me to meet up with the guys and Ella!" She winked, "Nate's single!"

Shane choked out, "Caitlyn!"

"What?" she replied, confusion evident in her chocolate-brown eyes.

I felt a sour taste in my mouth at Shane's protest. He was a jerk, I knew that, but there's something about Shane Gray that's just hypnotizing. Maybe it's the rock star image, or his bad boy ways, all I knew was that his comment stung in all the wrong places.

So coming to Shane's rescue I muttered, "Caitlyn, if you don't remember correctly, I have a date tomorrow. I think getting involved with two guys, even if there really isn't a foundation, would be a bit screwed up. I think that it's best if I just go home." I tried to make my tone insistent, but even I knew I wasn't convincing anyone.

Caitlyn waved her hand around in a humorous way. "Oh please, you're not getting married! Come with us! You'll have fun, I promise!"

I bit my lip, looking down. "Uh..."

"See? She obviously doesn't want to come," Shane replied for me. Again.

"I didn't say that!" I snapped at him, the nervousness leaving me.

Caitlyn smiled. "Great, then Shane," she turned to her ass of a boyfriend, "will pick you up tonight around seven and I'll see you there! I have to run, I'm meeting a couple friends," she glanced down to her watch, "and I'm late! It was nice meeting you Mitchie!"

As she weaved through the parking lot, getting into her car and driving away, I stared dully at Shane. "Crap bag."

I pulled him forward, heading for his car. "What?" Shane asked, confused.

"Crap bag," I replied. "That's what I'm referring to you as from this point on."

"Can I ask why?"

"Because that's what I see you as," I replied in a sugary sweet tone. "A bag of crap."

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks, I really appreciate that."

"No problem, crap bag."

We reached his car, and I impatiently tapped my foot, wanting the stupid cuffs off as soon as possible. Opening the trunk, he dug around, looking for the key. "Sometime today would be nice," I muttered sarcastically.

After a moment, he emerged with the key, removing the damn chain from our wrists. I tenderly rubbed my raw wrist, a rather scary looking red ring surrounding it.

He took my foreharm in his hand, inspecting my wrist tenderly. Despite the _voice in my head _that told me to push him away, a blush adorned my cheeks. "What are you doing?" I got out.

Before I realized what he was doing, he kissed my wrist, whispering, "Sorry about that."

My eyes widened, and I stumbled back. '_What the hell?' _I thought.

'_Shit, why did I do that?' _

At that moment, I reached forward to take a hold of his arm. "Okay, that wasn't awkward," I replied.

For a moment, I thought a rosy color stained his face but then he muttered, "Look, let's just go, okay?"

To soften the mood, I smiled. "Whatever you say, crap bag."

In the car, the awkwardness came back. I fidgeted, unsure of what to say. A few times I almost said more, but I refrained from doing so.

Shane spoke the words instead. "So, do you want to go home or..." he let the thought trail off.

"Uh, well, what do you want to do?"

If possible, he shrugged while driving. I blinked. "You hungry?"

Embarrasingly, I have to admit that my stomach growled at that moment. "Uh..."

He laughed, lightening the mood, again. "Great, then where do you want to go?"

In minutes we found ourselves at a McDonalds. Surprise, surprise, Mr. Rich Boy is actually really cheap. The cashier in a mock cheery voice asked, "What can I get you?"

Without thinking about it I said, "Large flies and a medium oreo Mcflurry."

Shane scanned over the menu before saying, "I'll just have a Big Mac."

After that, we headed over to a booth, our hands intertwined. Shane said, "So...what do you like to do?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, stuff?"

He rolled his eyes. I sighed. Shane and I were not meant to be friends, that much was sure. So why were we brought together in the first place?

* * *

Seven o'clock did finally come. Shane didn't have to pick me up, as it turned out, because I never left. I did call my mom to say that I'd be home later than I expected though. At least _she_ was happy about me spending more time with Shane.

We were on our way to Nate's place apparently, to watch some movie and just hang out. It was weird though, hanging out with _Connect Three_. Or bizare, I guess. Butterflies were in the pit of my stomach as we got out of his car, walking up to the front door.

Before we knocked on the door, I said, "Look, don't you dare think really annoying thoughts, okay? I don't want to cause a scene."

"Right, because I can control my thoughts."

Sighing, I went to ring the doorbell, pulling my hand away from his. Biting my lip, I couldn't help but think, '_What if they don't like me?' _

_'Then you'll go away and hopefully this curse will leave along with you.'_

I smacked him. '_Shut up.'_

Cheekily, in my head, he added, '_I didn't say anything.'_

Just as the door opened, I muttered, "Asshole."

"I don't think I've ever been greeted that way before," Nate said, smiling. I blushed. Can you say oops? Obviously I can. '_Oops.'_

_'Way to go ace." _Out loud though, Shane laughed for a second before shoving Nate through the door as I closed the door behind me.

I walked in hesitantly, unsure of what to do or say.

'_You're so up-tight. Just relax. Jesus, you'd think we're vicious or something. We don't bite Mitchie.'_

_'Thanks for that Crap Bag. Yeah, that helped a lot.' _

_'Glad to have been of service.'_

Nate finally appeared in front of me. "So, I'm Nate and I don't believe we've met. You're Mitchie, right?"

My eyes fluttered open in surprise. "Err, how'd you know?"

He laughed. "Caitlyn told me." He continued, "So, you're Ella's friend?"

_'Hey Shane, how the hell do we tell this Ella person that I'm her friend, without **telling **her, I'm her friend?'_

_'I'm working on it.' _He was standing just next to us, talking to Jason. '_Look, if he asked you how you met, just tell him that your familes know each other or something.'_

I smiled. "Uh, yeah."

"That's cool, but I don't think she's ever mentioned you." Why, why, why does Nate have to be the most perceptive of the male species?

"Our familes know each other," I fibbed, taking Shane's advice. '_Once again, I repeat: How the hell are we going to let Ella know I'm her friend. Is she even here?' _

_'She's not here yet, okay? Just stop with the worrying. God, you act as if the world's about to end or something.'_

I glared at Shane. Nate followed my gaze. "Whoa, you and Shane got some kind of declaration of war going on or something?" he asked.

I tore my eyes away and smiled back at Nate. "Uh, no, no, we just don't always see eye to eye."

Shane, in my head, said, '_Damn right we don't always see eye to eye.'_

Ignoring Shane, I said to Nate, "Yeah, so anyways, what're we watching?"

"Mitchie!" Caitlyn exclaimed, entering from the left. She looked genuinely happy to see me or something. Had I really made a good impression?

_'Unfortunately, yes.' _

'_Does that anger you, Shane?' _I thought through my amusement.

'_Yes.' _One of the best and worst things about having someone else's thoughts in your head, is that you hear nothing but the truth. This was one of those better times.

'_Good.' _I smiled at Caitlyn, moving away from Nate. "Hey! It's good to see you again!"

"You too! The pizza should be here in about fifteen minutes and Ella just called to say that she was going to be late," she turned to Jason and laughed, "nice going with those handcuffs by the way, Jason."

Before Jason could say anything, Shane and I screamed something totally illiterate, turning everyone's attention to the two of us. "Uh...okay," Jason finally said.

The doorbell rang and I panicked. '_Shit! That's Ella! Oh no.'_

Shane rolled his eyes. '_Shut up.'_

'_I didn't say anything, you ass.'_

_'Fine, if you're going to be technical about it!'_

Thinking on my toes, I reached for the door before anyone else could. "Uh, I'll get it." I opened the door and came face to face with a pretty Amerasian girl. "Hi Ella," I said slowly, whispering, "I'm Mitchie, you remember me, right? We're friends."

She looked confused for a second, but then she brightened. "Of course I remember you! Mitchie," she rolled her eyes, "as if I could forget you."

Let's just thank God that she's very gullible, shall we?


	7. The World Set Right

_'She bought it. Holy crap._' I couldn't help but think.

'_I told you not to worry, didn't I?'_

_'You honestly thought I'd listen to you?' _

I shut the door behind Ella quickly, resisiting the urge to take my frustration with Shane out on it.

_'Oh cry me a river.'_

_'Only if I can drown you in it.'_

"Okay," Caitlyn announced, holding up two dvds, one in each hand, "Transfomers or Saw?"

My mind immediately thought, '_Saw.'_

_'You're kidding, right? Saw? Saw!! Transformers all the way Mitch.'_

Ella wrinkled her nose. "Why can't we watch something," her eyes got starry, "romantic?"

'_Oh God Ella, stop it," _Shane thought.

'_What are you babbling about now?' _I rolled my eyes.

He ignored me, of course. '_Not again! I'm **not **watching Titanic **again**.'_

Nate spoke up, whining, "But we watched Titanic last week Ella!"

Ella turned to her boyfriend. "Jason..." she drew out, batting her eyelashes in his direction. She took a hold of his hand in her own, "You love me, don't you?"

Jason gulped, looking helplessly to Nate and Shane. He mouthed the words, "Help me" to each of them. Ella continued to turn on the charm. Finally, he hung his head. "Okay, okay. Guys?"

'_Way to be a man.'_

I rolled my eyes. '_He loves her.'_

_'He's whipped," _Shane countered.

Aloud, Shane said, "No. Absolutely not. We watched your pick last time!"

Ella's lower lip trembled and we all winced. '_Aww, come on Shane. How bad could it be?'_

'_You don't know Ella.'_

Nate, too, agreed with Shane. "Yeah, we watched your pick last time! I don't want to watch another chick flick! Lets watch something else! _Anything _else!"

Ella finally unleashed the water works. "You. Guys. Don't. Love. Me!"

We all sighed in unison. "Fine."

"Yay!" she brightened, the tears coming to a screeching halt. She bounced out of the hallway, leading us to what I could only assume to be the living room.

I was the last to follow when the doorbell rang. Caitlyn turned around, "Hey Mitchie, the money is on the side table, you don't mind getting the pizza do you?"

I yelled back, "Nah, one sec." Turning around, I grabbed the money off the table, opening the door to reveal the pizza dude.

Holding two pizzas in his hand, he held them out to me. I handed him two twenties. "Here you go." Vaguely, I wondered, '_How much tip to I give him...'_

_'Just let him keep it all.' _

"What?" I didn't realize I spoke the words out loud.

"I didn't say anything," the guy spoke back.

"Heh, uh, just keep it all." The dude smiled, turning around in glee. Surprising, I never knew that being a pizza guy could bring such joy.

'_You're mean.'_

_'I didn't mean it like that and you know it. You can hear me thinking, stupid.'_

_'Don't call me stupid.'_

_'Insufferable bastard.'_

_'Don't call me that either!'_

_'Egotistical, selfish, unbelievable asshole? How does that work for you?'_

_'Are you on your period?' _

I froze. '_No.' _

_'Hmm...well you've got some issues.'_

_'You're one to talk.'_

_'I didn't say anything!' _he thought, the smartass.

_'Insufferable bastard.'_

* * *

"So...did you have fun?" Shane asked awkwardly, as he drove me home.

His hand was resting on my leg again, thankfully (that sounds too weird to think about), so he couldn't hear what I was thinking, a definite good thing. Sighing, I replied, "I guess. I just want this thing to end. What are we going to do if it doesn't? I can't live with a guy in my head."

It was a while before he spoke. "I don't know what we're supposed to do and I'm not sure if there's a real reason we're supposed to know each other." He glanced at me for a second, then shrugged. "Maybe it's destiny."

I held my breathe. "Screw destiny," I finally replied. "We make our own destiny, Shane. Someone else has it out for us." I thought harder, "Maybe we're meant to be enemies and this is a test."

"Yeah, right. If we're meant to be enemies than why the hell can we hear each other? And you know what else? Why the hell did we share that dream? I mean, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Is that all you can say? 'Why the hell this' and 'Why the hell that'? I don't know. You don't know. Only God knows whether we'll figure it out, but I want to know how to _stop _it. Let's just face it Shane: We're not friends, we're not even aquaintances. The second that this thing stops, we're going to go in our seperate directions."

Once again, silence reigned and for that moment only, I wished I knew what was going on in his head. "I don't know, but there has to be a _reason _that this is happening to us. People don't just wake up one day with voices in their heads Mitchie. And we're not crazy."

The car stopped as he pulled into my driveway, but his hand stayed. I looked down, fiddling with my thumbs. "I have an idea, but it might not be a good one. I might be crazy even for thinking about it."

"What?" he said softly.

"I..." I hesitated. "Okay, look," I closed my eyes to keep myself from seeing his reaction, "don't freak out, but what if you stayed here...for the night?" At his silence I continued, "For experimental purposes! There has to be a reason why we can't hear each other when we're touching, maybe if we sleep in close proximity, we won't share our dreams."

"You were right. That doesn't sound like a good idea." Shane rubbed his forehead with his left hand, sighing. Who knew that he could be rational?

I waited for him to continue all the while wishing I hadn't brought it up.

"I'll have to duck out before your parents get up."

I released the breath I was holding. "Oh, well, okay then."

Shane started the car up again. "What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

"I can't just leave it here. That'd be a bit suspicious, Mitchie. I'll just park around the corner." He made it seem so obvious that I didn't have anything witty or sarcastic to say back.

You know, I really hate it when he outsmarts me.

* * *

"So, um, goodnight," I said from underneath the covers. '_God, this is so incredibly awkward.'_

_'Your idea.'_

_'I forgot that you can still hear me.'_

_'Kind of hard not-_

At that moment, I reached out to take his hand in my own. Aloud, I spoke, "Okay, scoot closer to me. I don't think I can fall asleep with you in my head, it's too hard."

In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but feel as if we were some how betraying Caitlyn. Technically speaking, Shane and I were sleeping together.

I sighed. I just know that whoever was behind the whole damn thing was laughing their ass off at us.

Shane wrapped his arm around my waist, and I stiffened. "Relax, I'm not going to do anything," he spoke quietly. How could I relax though, knowing that he was dating one of the nicest people I've ever met, when he had his arm snaked around _my _waist? "Goodnight Mitchie."

I sighed. Not much I could do about it by that point. "Night."

* * *

Groaning, I opened my eyes. Blinking, I looked around swiftly. Light was pooling in from my window. Someone's arm was wrapped around my waist. I turned to Shane, with his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open, he looked adorable. Unconciously, I reached forward to brush a bit of his hair out of the way of his face.

He moved, opening his eyes slowly. "Caitlyn?" he asked.

I flinched. He thought I was Caitlyn? Better question: Why did I care?

"Err, no, it's Mitchie."

He sat up abruptly, revealing his naked chest. I blushed. (He's ripped girls, in case you were oblivious to that little factoid.) He looked down, smirking. "You think I'm sexy."

My jaw dropped. "I do _not _think you're sexy!"

"Yes you do, don't deny it."

I rolled my eyes, swatting at his head. The sheet that was covering up my chest slipped and I said, "I do not think you're sexy!"

He didn't reply, instead he was staring at...me? I looked down. I was clad in short shorts and a tight fitted, low cut tank. Yeah, I know, stupid choice of clothing. I blushed though, pulling the sheet up further. Smirking, I turned to Shane, revenge prepared. "You think _I'm_ sexy."

"Uh huh." He paused. "I mean, no I don't."

I laughed. "Whatever. On the bright side, no dreams."

He nodded, letting go of my waist. We were no longer touching.

I paused. We were no longer touching! My eyes widened and I started to scream. Shane looked at me like I was crazy. "What are you yelling for? Your parents are going to kill me!"

The smile on my face embraced the complete happiness that I was feeling. "Shane, we're not touching anymore."

He blinked. I sighed. "We're. Not. Touching. Anymore," I repeated.

His eyes widened and he jumped up. "YES!" he screamed, hands outstretched to the ceiling.

I giggled, but then...my parents barged through the door. "Mitchie-

My mom stopped talking, staring at a half naked Shane and a giggling me. Shit.

Dad's eyes narrowed as he took in Shane's appearance. I bit my lip. Shane started to say, "It's not what it looks like!"

I slapped my head. Crawling out from underneath the covers, I got up, hesitantly putting my hands behind my back. "Mom, look, it really isn't want it looks like."

"Oh really!? That's why some _boy," _Shane shuddered, "is half naked in your bed screaming 'Yes!'? That's why you're wearing that!" Dad pointed to my clothes as I self-conciously pulled my shorts down a bit lower. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Dad, we didn't do anything! I swear!"

Mom merely shook her head. "Tell me you at least used protection."

I blushed. "Mom, we _didn't _do anything!"

She put her hand up to stop me. "Mitchie, I will not tolerate a liar in my house. If you are going to have sex, you're going to be safe about it, do you understand me?"

As embarrasing as the ordeal was turning into, I simply couldn't take it anymore, so I muttered, "Yes ma'am."

Dad glared at mom, "That's it!? That's it! My baby girl is having SEX and all you're going to tell her is to make that idiot," he pointed to Shane, "wear a glove? Damn it!" And then he stormed out.

"Mitchie, I just want you to be honest with me. I didn't think that you'd be having sex so early on," she sighed, "but you are seventeen now, and I will leave that part of your life to you. Just promise me that you'll be safe and that you'll talk to me about it?"

"Okay," I meekly answered.

She left the room, giving the two of us one last look. I plopped back down on my bed, burying my face in my hands. "That was the single most embarrasing moment of my life."

Shane was shell-shocked. "Oh my God. I can't believe...and...I think I should go." He pulled his shirt over his head, and began tying his shoes.

As he went to leave, I put my hand on his shoulder, "Hey Shane, even though we were only in each other's heads for a bit," I smirked, "I'm glad it's over."

He laughed, and I was glad. "Yeah, me too."

He left. I smiled. Finally, the world was set right.


	8. The World Sucks Ass

"Where are you going, dressed all fancy?" she, meaning my mom, asked me, a small smile on her face, as I got dressed for my date with Ben.

My date with Ben. The mere thought had sent butterflies to my stomach, nervousness to my brain, and goosebumps to my skin. Scared as hell for my first real date? Understatement of my life.

Turning to my mom, my hair down, with little makeup on, I smiled. "What do you think?" I twirled around in my jean skirt, showing off my pink, glittery tank top.

"You look beautiful, as always," she said. Crossing her arms from the doorway, she said in a motherly tone, "Are you going out with that boy we saw earlier?"

Uh oh. I froze. I swallowed, pushing thoughts of Shane to the side. "Actually mom, I'm not going out with Sha - Shawn," I corrected myself, remembering what I had said to her earlier.

Her expression changed to one full of concern. "Mitchie," she stepped forward, "I don't want you to be like those other girls." Oh, I knew who she was refering to. No worries girls, you shall remain nameless. "Talk to me," she finished softly.

I frowned. Turning away, I stumbled for the right words. "Mom, nothing happened with Shawn," - it felt weird not saying Shane - "yesterday. You have to know that. You _know _me. I'm not going to lie to you or dad about that. And we're not together, we're just friends."

I know. The last line was lame. What else was I supposed to say though?

"Just friends?" Her eyebrow went up, unbelieving to what I was suggesting.

Okay, so the "just friends" thing actually was a lie. As if Shane and I could ever be friends, especially with the whole "Voices In Heads" thing. Awkward much? I'd say so.

"Mom," I said jokingly, "would I lie to you?"

She sighed. I held my breath. "No, you wouldn't. Or at least I hope you wouldn't." She looked at me, as if daring me to comment.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Mom, you don't have to believe me, but it's the truth. Shane." I corrected myself, "Shawn, and I are just friends. We could never be anything more and we never will be. I'm going out with Ben tonight and we'll see how it goes from there. I'm not having sex either. If I was, I'd let you know." She sighed, putting her hands into the backpockets of her jeans. "You have to trust me," I finished firmly.

She smiled, reaching forward to hug me. "I do trust you Mitchie, but I'm your mother. I'm inclined to worry about you."

"I know."

"Good," she laughed, "now tell me, who's this Ben boy of yours?"

I blushed. "Only the most perfect, handsome, beautiful -

The doorbell rang. I panicked. "He's here!" I screamed through my nervousness.

"Calm down honey," she laughed.

I scrambled around my room, picking up various little necessities, tossing each and every one into my pink, shoulder bag. "Okay, I'm ready." I paused, making sure my hair looked right, and that my outfit was perfect. "Are you sure I look okay?" I asked, biting my lip.

"You look great!" Mom smiled, pushing me out my bedroom door. "Now go before your father scares him away."

Yes, I did run downstairs after mom said that. It wouldn't do me good to have a dead date, after all.

* * *

"Dad! Leave him alone!" I screamed, as soon as I saw him leaning up against the door.

He turned around, a smile on his face. I stared, confused. "Why are you smiling...?"

"Ben," he said simply, pointing to, well, Ben. He put a hand on my date's shoulder. "Mitchie, you picked a winner in this one."

Both of my eyebrows went up. Dad approved? I had a hard time deciding if that was a good thing or a bad omen.

I settled for pushing past dad, grabbing Ben's wrist, and pulling him away from the house. "I'll see you later!" I yelled as we got to his car.

We got into his car - a cute old miata, a metallic blue color. "Nice car," I commented, not sure of what to say.

"Thanks!" Ben said brightly. I glanced down. Ben drove an automatic. For some reason, I found that funny. Maybe Shane had rubbed off on me in the short time we had "spent" together.

"So where are we going?" I looked to him questioningly.

He turned right at the end of the street. "Well, how do you feel about Chinese?"

My least favorite food. "I love it."

"It's my favorite food," he said back.

Of course it is.

* * *

In the middle of dinner, me picking through the contents of my plate, Ben said, "So..."

I perked up. "Yes?"

"You excited for school?"

My smile turned upside down. "Not really, you?"

He took a big bite of his food, before saying, "Kind of. High school only happens once."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Why? You don't like school?"

I replied, "No, it's not school that I don't like, it's just the cliques and the gossip. I just get kind of sick of it, you know?" I glanced down at my plate, moving the food around with my chopsticks.

'_Oh God, she has nice legs.'_

I froze. I turned my head sideways, before checking behind me. No sign of Shane. I sighed, knowing what was happening. Regardless, I said, '_Please don't tell me this is round two.'_

_'Not again!' _I heard.

Dully, I thought, '_Hi Shane.'_

_'Mitchie,' _he thought curtly.

Aloud, I moaned, wanting badly to bang my head against the table. To Ben, who was staring at me oddly, I said, "Heh, excuse me for a moment." Getting up, my purse around my shoulder, I practically ran to the bathroom.

'_How the hell did this happen?' _Thought, well. obviously, you know who thought that.

'_How am I supposed to know?' _I thought back viciously.

'_Don't you blow up at me woman! This is your fault!'_

_'How is this my fault? Obviously there's more to this warped riddle than we thought.'_

_'Nooo, you think?' _

I paused, staring into the mirror. My reflection depicted a pissed off Mitchie.

'_Talking about yourself in third person? Nice.'_

I clenched my teeth. '_Shut up. And no Shane, don't you **dare **say a thing about not saying anything out loud!' _

_'Does that even make sense? And just so you know, I wasn't going to.'_

I rolled my eyes. _'Of course you weren't.' _

_'Look, we need to meet up now. Obviously this is a bigger problem than we thought. Where are you?'_

I paused, staring at my reflection once more. It was then that I noticed the window behind me.


	9. When Frustration Takes Its Toll

I turned, looking at the window dejectedly. "Oh man," I said aloud.

'_What now?'_

I groaned. '_Thanks to you I have to climb out of here. This is all your fault. I hate you.'_

Somehow I knew that if he were standing in front of me, he'd roll his eyes. But he wasn't the one in a skirt preparing to desert the one and only person who'd ever shown any interest in him.

_'You see, I would never have that problem, Mitch. People actually like me.'_

_'No, it's because you're a rich bastard.'_

_'Oh, so I'm a bastard now?'_

_'I call 'em as I see 'em.'_

Sighing, I bit my lip, not wanting to just leave. Though I knew Ben wouldn't exactly be devastated, I didn't want to leave. The night hadn't been the fantasy I had conjured up in my head, but it wasn't unbearable either. Ben was...well, he was Ben. The guy I thought was Mr. Perfection. _The _guy to date. It never occured to me that I would be the one to walk away. Or rather, climb away.

_'God, you're so melodramtic.'_

_'Shut up. You don't know him.'_

_'Well apparently neither do you. He fits the profile of an asshole. You'd know that if you were a guy.'_

_'You mean I'd know that if I were you. Because you're an asshole.'_

_'Shut up. Just get out of there. Now.'_

_'You're not the boss of me.'_

_'As stupid as you're being, I'm glad.' _If he had seen the look on my face, I'm sure he'd have taken back his words._ '__Look, I'm in my car. I'm coming, okay? Just wait for me.'_

_'Right. Because I'm just so excited to see you.'_

_'What other option do we have, miss know-it-all? As you already admitted, we can't be apart. Not while this fucked up connection still exists.'_

Did I mention how much I _hate _it when he's right?

* * *

I stared out the window, watching the various waves of cars swish past us. My mind kept going back to what I had just done. How could I just ditch him like that? Without an explanation? What kind of bitch had I turned into? Was it because of Shane? Or was it because of me? I sighed, closing my eyes and tilting my head back.

"Look -

"Just this once," I cut him off, "can you not be an ass? Just don't say anything."

His fingers, featherlight on my knee, felt calloused, rough, and something I couldn't even figure out. With his left hand on the wheel, he took a sideways glance towards me. "You don't have to act as if you're the only one suffering you know."

More than Shane's sarcastic asshole-ish behavior, I really, really hated his serious side. He made me feel like an insignificant child. Like I was a horrible person. Like him. "How can I not? You're just a frickin' pop star with total disregard for anyone else's feelings."

He was silent. And then, "Why do you think that?"

I laughed mockingly. "Why would I think that? Why _wouldn't _I think that? The world may be convinced that you're some god-like creature, but not me. You're an ass, you have the most ridiculously perverted thoughts, and you have the audacity to ask _me _why I think you don't care about anyone else?" I crossed my arms. "If this is torture for you, then good. I want you to suffer every ounce of misery that I am."

I knew he was getting angrier by every word I spoke as his fingers, that I had barely felt before I said a word, had wound themselves around my skin tightly, in an iron-like grip. I stared at his jaw, watching as he struggled to keep his annoyance in check. "You don't know anything about me."

"Of course I do," I replied instantly, forgetting that all I knew about him was what the media wanted us to believe.

I was shocked when he sped up the car, only to pull over on the side of the road. "Is that so?" he growled out.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was slightly frightened by his reaction. Never had I been in a situation where I was alone with a male person who wasn't a friend or a family member. I refused to believe that he would hurt me, but I was beginning to realize that rage did unbelievable things to a person. I didn't know what to say though. My eyes had widened as I struggled to get a hold of the door handle.

"You think you know everything there is to know about Shane fucking Gray?" His eyes were what scared me the most. They weren't arrogant, or even annoyed. They were full of uncontrollable anger.

"I...Shane I...I'm," I stuttered, looking into his eyes, not by choice, but because I _couldn't_ look away.

"You're what?" he continued, the mad glint still in his eyes.

I went into panic mode. Reaching for the handle, I swiftly opened it, almost falling out of the car. Without a second thought, I ran. Tears filled my eyes as I continued on but I wouldn't allow that to stop me. '_Must...get...away."_

_'Damn it Mitchie, I'm not going to hurt you.'_

_'Shut up! Just shut up! Get out of my head!' _I collapsed to the ground, my knees connecting with pavement. My breath came out loud and choppy as I choked on my tears. My hair, falling in front of my face, protected me from what I knew was Shane kneeling in front of me. I scrambled back, prepared to run again.

But he was already a step head of me, pulling me up with his arms. For reasons unknown to me, he pulled me into a fierce hug, whispering soothing words into my ear. "Shh. It's okay. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

My eyes, large and still frightened, began to see spots. Before I understood what was happening, I collapsed, fainting into my nightmare's arms. The last thing I heard was, "Mitchie!"

'_I'm sorry, Shane...'_

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**If you followed this story before, I'm hoping you'll follow it now. I removed everything that came after this point, because I felt that this was the high point of my story. Then everything went downhill. So, I'm here to fix what was broken. Hopefully you'll like it. And if you're new, great. I hope you enjoy. ;)**


	10. Little Mitchie

**Alright, guys. I'm really happy knowing that there are a few of you out there who are looking forward to the continuation of VIMH. Even I'm glad I've gotten off my lazy butt to finish this. I've been kind of in this bitter mood for the past few weeks, and I've been taking all of that frustration out on my alter-ego. But, I've got a new Shaitlyn in the works at this very moment, and as much as I'd love to put the first installment up _now, _I'm forcing myself to write the first five chapters first. I've got some peeps who would kill me for putting up another multi-chap. Heh. Anyhow, if you reviewed/favorited/alerted, you get a virtual cookie. -here- Enjoy this installment. Or not. Whichever, really. Hee.**

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I groaned, trying to figure out what the hell had happened to me. I could remember blacking out, I even remembered Shane calling out my name, but everything else was just one big blur. I got up, trying to figure out where I was. _Where is Shane_, I couldn't help but wonder.

Looking around, I realized he was nowhere to be found. '_Great, I faint and you run away.'_

And then a voice in the distance, soft but firm, announced, "Michelle Torres."

I whipped my head to the left, the direction the voice was coming from. I walked warily towards it, my curiosity getting the best of me. "Who's there?"

"Come closer," was the only response I got.

I stopped. "Uh, I don't think so."

There was an awkward pause before a small figure, she couldn't have been more than five years old, appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She waved. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

I gaped. The girl was _so_ adorable. "How did you know my name?" I rolled my eyes. "Did a boy with brown hair and really tight pants put you up to this?"

She laughed, shaking her head no. She held out my wallet to her. "I found this, so I looked inside. Your driver's license told me who you were." I grabbed the wallet, sticking it safely in my front pocket.

It was dark out, way past her bedtime. Way past _my _bedtime. I clenched my teeth, thinking horrible things to Shane. The only problem was that I wasn't getting a response.

Scratch that. _Not _hearing things from Shane wasn't a problem. It was a blessing.

I looked down at the girl, taking in her pink dress, brown ponytails, and teddy bear. She really did look the part of cute and cuddly. I knelt down to her height. "Do you need me to help you?

The little girl smiled cryptically. "Don't you think I should help you first?"

For a tiny little thing, she was strangely articulate. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Help me?"

"You and Shane," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I looked around then, glaring, looking for annoying guitar players who were laughing at my expense. "This isn't funny, Gray!" I yelled out into the night.

The little girl stomped her foot. "He's not here!"

I backed away, realizing that there was something _very _odd about the little girl. "Who are you?"

She smiled. "I'm you."

No, my eyes didn't get all big and my jaw didn't drop. Instead, I started laughing, falling directly on my ass. I ruffled her hair. "Very funny."

She held out the teddy bear. "Do you remember Fluffy?"

I decided to amuse her, taking the bear in my hands. I looked it over. In that instant, when I read the inscription on the charm around its neck, the one that had a big F + M on it, I screamed. "How did you get this?" I said, trying to keep my tone even.

"Mommy gave it to me for my 5th birthday." She took it back, hugging it tightly.

I remembered that birthday. I lost Fluffy a year later in the mall. To say I was devestated would be the biggest understatement of my sixth year of life.

Tears formed in my eyes. First there's a voice in my head and then the five year old me starts stalking me. What next? Fluffy would come to life?

I took another glance around me, realizing that Shane would never just desert me. "Where am I?"

"In a dream." She shrugged, taking a seat on the bench I didn't know we were standing next to, her feet dangling carelessly over the bench.

"A dream?" I repeated slowly.

"Uh huh. You fainted, so now you're here with me."

I nodded, biting my lip. At least I wasn't going crazy. At least I was in a dream. We sat in silence for a moment. And then I looked to her, happy as a clam, playing with Fluffy. How strange of me to think five year old me was cute. I took Fluffy out of her hands, watching in a daze as a frown identical to my own (insert duh here) settled across her face. "Hey Mitchie," I said, giggling at the fact that I was talking to myself. "What was that you were saying about Shane and me?"

She glared. "Give me Fluffy."

I smirked, holding Fluffy behind my back. "You said you'd help me."

She crossed her arms, her ponytails, strangely enough, sagging down. "You're a meanie."

"Hey, if you're me and I'm you, then that makes you a meanie too."

Her response was a shaking head and stuck out tongue. "You stink at rhyming."

I had to restrain myself from hurting the kid. She was an annoying little sucker. Even if her DNA was mine. "Look, you said something about Shane. What was it you were going to say?"

She held her hand out expectantly. I rolled my eyes, setting Fluffy back in her hands. She patted him gently, tucking him under her arm. And then she looked back to me. "Alright then. You and Shane won't be getting rid of each other any time soon."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that you and Shane aren't done yet. You haven't figured it out yet." She turned around, skipping away into the darkness.

"Wait! I don't understand!"

"Time to wake up, Mitchie."

* * *

I jolted up, shaking. I took a look around, trying to place where I was. Instantly, I had figured it out. It was Shane's apartment. It looked exactly the way it had in my previous dream, the source of this bizarre, confusing connection. Falling back onto the cushion-y surface of Shane's couch, I closed my eyes, putting my hands over them. _'What is going on?' _

Shane didn't hear me, because he was touching my forearm. And I was glad, because I didn't need him in my head, not after that freaky dream, not after what had just happened hours ago. In the beginning stages of our mental connection, we were annoyed. The horrific reality of how bad this could really be was only beginning to sink in now. We could no longer pretend as if this would go away. We had to attack this head on, figure out what the hell we were going to do, what the hell we were _meant _to do.

"Where am I?" I asked the obvious question, despite knowing the answer already. This was only meant to evade from the previous incident.

Shane was silent a moment, before: "My apartment."

I sat up slowly, using my elbows as support. Shane moved his hand to my own, placing it right over. I stared for a moment, befor saying, "We have to talk about what happened, don't we?"

"I think we do." His tone was so serious, so unlike his egotistical self that I was almost sad. In a bizarre, inexplicable way, I wanted the asshole-like Shane back. I needed him to antagonize me and make me feel horrible about our situation. In a backwards way, it worked as a soothing method.

"I don't know what to say," I began, stumbling for the right words. I needed to apologize for what I had done. Most of it had been my fault.

"You were angry," he said, pointing out the obvious. "We do stupid things through rage. It's a universal fact."

"I know. I just. I'm _sorry_, Shane. I'm so - so sorry for what I said. I mean," I smiled smally, "you can be a jerk, but...you've got it just as bad as I do. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. I'm just so sorry."

"Me too."

He didn't need to apologize for anything, but I didn't feel as if it was worth continuing. It was a stressful situation, my dream of Little Mitchie had confused the hell out of me, and all I wanted was to sleep for the next five years. I yawned and asked, "What time is it?"

"Late."

"_How _late?"

"Like, grounded for life late."

"Great," I said, groaning.

He picked up my hand and squeezed it gently. "No worries. I texted your friend Sierra. She covered for you. I just...I wasn't sure when you were going to wake up, and I thought about taking you to the hospital, but - "

"You're Shane Gray and the media would have had a field day."

"So you see the dilemma."

"Well, I'll crash on your couch for tonight, and we'll solve this mysterious connection tomorrow. I'm dead-tired and I just want..." My eyelids were closing on me, and Shane's voice was fading.

"Sweet dreams, Mitchie."

_'Goodnight, Shane...'_

* * *

**Reviews are very much appreciated, really and truly. I do hope you enjoyed this one. Also, if you reviewed chapter ten the first time around, you will not be able to review this one again. I've re-enabled anonymous reviews though, if you really want to leave a comment. Otherwise, you can always PM me your thoughts. Thanks. ;)**


	11. A Talk To Silence The Questions

**It took me forever to finally come up with a good enough post. Here it is. I hope you like it if you've been waiting for this, and I hope you leave me your thoughts when you're done. It's been a really long time for me, so I hope you like these characters still. Thank you for clicking.**

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I woke up for the second time in Shane's apartment not knowing where I was. It wasn't the same kind of panic I felt the first time, but that was mostly because of the dream I'd had. This time, I just sort of laid there not sure of myself or my life. Or of Shane and me. The realization dawned on me when I thought of Shane, though. The blanket over me smelt like Shane, the pillow underneath me felt like heaven, and the uneasiness in my stomach felt like we needed to talk about everything.

I wasn't looking forward to that last part.

So I stretched my arms a little, adjusted myself so that my back was up and I was resting on my elbows. It was incredibly bright outside, not that I could really tell at first since Shane's blinds were closed tightly. I sat up and rubbed my eyelids. Yawned and thought about just leaving and avoiding Shane completely. I knew that wouldn't work though, considering our mental connection seemed to be anything but easy to figure out. Then I saw the piece of paper on the table. Grabbed it. Read it and fell back against Shane's couch with more uneasiness growing inside of me.

_Mitchie_, it read_, I'm probably not up yet. It took me a while to really feel like I needed sleep. You've been asleep for about three hours now. Look, I get that this thing we've got, it sucks. And I wish I could do something about it, and I know that you wish I could do something about it, but I don't know how to fix it. And I wish I did. I really, really do. I don't know what I sound like writing this…I'm pretty wired actually and I probably don't make any sense. I just wanted to let you know – I just wanted you to wake up and know that you're not alone in this. I just wanted you to know that. – Shane _

"What are you trying to do to me, Gray?" I asked myself as I let my eyelids close. I didn't want to think. I just wanted to disappear into my own personal abyss.

Okay, not really. I just wanted…answers.

I kept the note in my hands as I thought about what was happening to us. Not that I knew. I kept it in my hands as I opened my eyes, as I clenched my teeth in disgust over my actions. I kept it in my hands even as Shane walked out of his bedroom, clad in actual pajama bottoms and a plain white tee.

I didn't know what to say.

"Morning?" I tried.

He made no response other than a slight groan. "Hours this early shouldn't exist."

"Agreed."

He sat down with me, next to me, and sighed. "So…I guess we should – "

"Shane," I started, cutting him off, "why am I here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why am I _here_? In your apartment, underneath your blanket. On your couch. With you. I don't know. Take your pick, I guess. Have at it, pop star." It was all coming out in choppy, frustrated sentences. "Why did you bring me here? What _made _you bring me here?"

He, like me, didn't know what to say. "I don't know, really. I just thought. I mean. Does it really matter?" he asked me in this sort of pitiful kind of way.

I turned it over in my head, because for the moment at least he wasn't there with me. And it made me feel better, but it also made me feel scared.

"No," I said suddenly. "I guess it doesn't."

He nodded. "All right then." We looked like a bizarre TV add or something, sitting there with our legs crossed. Staring forward like the dead zombies we were.

"So I guess we should talk then," I said.

"Probably."

"I am sorry. I know I said it already, but I am. I just don't know how to deal with this. And I took it out on the one person who actually understands what I'm going through." I smiled a little. "So stupid, I know."

He returned it. "Not really. I get it. I've given as good as I've got."

"…well…"

"Hey, now," he said with a little bit of a humorous side.

"In all seriousness."

"Yeah."

"This really sucks, Shane."

"I thought we were being serious."

"I am."

"Kind of being a downer today, aren't you Mitch?"

"In all seriousness?"

"Yeah."

"This _really _sucks, Shane."

"Yeah, I know." He looked down to his hands, then to my hands where I was ringing his note into a thin crinkled line. He almost frowned before he said, "You know, I can't really remember the last time I had a good day."

"What?" I asked him incredulously.

"In all seriousness, Torres, I cannot remember when the last time I had a good day was. I've had good _times_, moments I guess. But days? Like a full twenty-four hours? Can't recall."

"I'm starting to feel like we're in one of those really awful eighties movies. You know we're not going to get high and become lovers over the span of a ten minute period, right?"

"I hope that wasn't a Breakfast Club reference."

I rolled my eyes, but playfully. "So, a good day, huh?"

"Yup."

"Well, Mr. Gray, I think we deserve to forget about the shit that's been messing with us."

He smiled and I can't say why but I felt something that wouldn't leave me alone. Something not like love and not like lust, but like…warmth. "Forget the serious talk. I just want a good day."

I put the note in my pocket and yawned. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"And Mitchie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"Depends."

"If we can't figure this out and we're stuck like this forever, promise me that you won't hate me."

I frowned at his off-the-wall request. "Shane –

"Promise me."

"Okay. But Shane?"

"We're not going to be stuck like this forever."

He didn't look at me for a minute or two. "How do you know?"

"I don't. But I have to believe that this happened for a reason and that we'll figure it out. Otherwise I'm going to have to kill you," I said casually.

And he laughed. And I laughed with him.

And I didn't wonder while we laughed why something so awful could happen to us and how I could be so oddly happy and comfortable. I didn't wonder it while I sat there with him, emotionally drained but okay.I didn't wonder at all. And I think that's why I was so happy. I didn't have to wonder. I could just be there with someone I didn't really like but who understood completely what was going on with me.

I sort of wish Shane was still in my head sometimes. Because even though it sucked beyond anything else, it was also sort of nice.

In an odd, horrifying sort of way.

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**Okay. So that wasn't comedic really, but I wanted to throw in a scene where Mitchie and Shane could really talk without any dramatic interventions. I hope you liked it, because this took me longer than I had hoped to write and it was only 1100 words. Disappointing, but better than anything else I'd come up with in the last seven months. Heh. **

**Now, if my magic review button says you've already reviewed this chapter and you still want to say something, anonymous reviews have been enabled so you can do that. Leave your real penname along with it and I'll get right back to ya. **

**Thanks for reading. I'm hoping to churn out another update soon-ish.**


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